Hey everyone! ARK is the second crypto I'll talk about as we proceed into 2018! Yesterday we talked about STEEM, if you missed that post, click here for the post about STEEM. If you're looking for the post that shows the entire portfolio, click here to see the entire portfolio.
What is ARK?
Ark is a delegated proof of stake cryptocurrency that aims to create an ecosystem that bridges blockchains and allows consumers ease of use for any bridged blockchain within the ARK wallet.
Ark's Website has a beautiful new layout and does a really good job showcasing what Ark is about and how it aims to bridge the gap (pun intended) between consumers and blockchain technology.
I don't want to get too much into the basics of what ARK is, I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory from their website and whitepaper. The gist is that ARK aims to create an easy-to-use interface that can interact with virtually any blockchain. This consumer-centric approach is what could take ARK to the moon, in my opinion.
Why invest in ARK?
- DPOS Dividends
- Utility
- Consumer-Centric
- Ambition and Wide-Spread Impact (Roadmap)
- Already a Functional Use Case (ACES)
1. DPOS Dividends:
Put simply, Delegated Proof of Stake (or DPOS) means that "mining" is done by the delegates who have the majority of the votes in the network. Each wallet is able to vote for a delegate and the weight and power of that vote is determined by the stake (or the amount) of ARK held in a given wallet. For example, someone who has 100 ARK has a larger influence than someone who has 10 ARK.
Voting for a delegate is very easy to do and there are plenty of guides out there on reddit that you can take a look at. I'm planning on making a guide using the Ledger Nano S in the near future. I'll link that article here when it becomes available.
Once a wallet has voted for a delegate, that wallet is paid out dividends in ARK tokens every payout period (payout periods are determined by each delegate). I've staked the delegate Jarunik for a variety of reasons that I won't get into in this article. He pays out ARK dividends to my wallet once every week.
The dividends come out to be roughly 9-10% per year which may not sound like much to the average crypto investor, but if you look at any dividend paying company on the stock market, 9-10% initial yield is very high. Don't forget that as the price of ARK goes up, so do the value of your ARK holdings and any dividends you've previously earned in ARK tokens. Currently I'm averaging about 5 ARK per week in dividends. That means that if the price of ARK goes to $100 (currently $7.5), I've effectively been earning $500 per week on a relatively small investment. Think: staking = mining in a different way.
2. Utility
Utility of any cryptocurrency has become one of the most debated issues. There are many "shitcoins" out there that carry no real-world utility and no real-world value. The value of the token is completely reliant on greedy investors. ARK is not one of these coins, it has real-world utility and practical use cases.
Provided that Ark's technology and team continue to bridge new blockchains and build out their technological roadmap, ARK tokens are going to be used frequently for a wide-varitey of different use cases. Such use cases are described in the whitepaper on Ark's website.
3. Consumer-Centric
As we continue to see people enter the crypto space, it's ever more apparant that there is a huge learning curve for just about everything. Wallet security, blockchains, forks, etc. are terms and ideas that the average consumer knows nothing about and would prefer to learn nothing about in the future.
ARK aims to teach consumers to use their easy interface and interact with any crypto/blockchain of their choosing. If ARK is successful in building a clean and intuitive interface, it could bridge the gap between consumers and blockchain, in my opinion.
4. Ambition and Wide-Spread Impact (Roadmap)
Ark's project is very ambitious and if successful, could make major waves in just about any industry. I recommend you learn more about what the Ark team is up to and how they're progressing on their roadmap. Unlike many other cryptos, Ark's roadmap is pretty simple and easy to follow.
5. Already a Functional Use Case (ACES)
ACES stands for Ark Contract Execution Services and is a way to deploy smart contracts or send ETH on the Ethereum network using ARK tokens.
ACES is a very interesting project and shows the potential for Ark's smartbridge technology. Integration into other blockchains is going to be very interesting to see in the future and could bring massive value to the ARK token via increased usage of ARK.
I recommend checking out the ACES project and you should even try using the testnet to send a few transactions of your own!
So there you have it, yet another crypto I'll be hodling till death do us part 🤩🚀. I hope that you learned a few things about ARK that you didn't know previously and consider checking it out in more depth on your own time! ARK is one of those projects that ignites excitement and truly is a moonshot!
Disclaimer: This is not investment advice and is for entertainment purposes only. Thank you!
Thanks for reading! Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
QOTD: Do you think Ark's consumer-centric approach to bring ease of use to crypto is a good one? Why or why not?
Thanks for reading!
-Khaleel
God bless you.
Ark's consumer-centric approach sounds Good.... thanks for telling about ARK i don't know about it . I will take watch on it.
Please do! It's a great crypto with huge potential!
What are your thoughts on the BAT coin?
I'm holding BAT, it's on the list: (https://steemit.com/steem/@khaleelkazi/steem-to-the-moon-my-top-crypto-picks-for-2018)
I'll talk about it in tomorrow's post! Stay tuned!
BAT is very exciting and has a great team behind it. Once it catches fire it will be amazing! cant wait for tomorrow's post!
Agreed! The team is probably one of the best I've ever seen in crypto!
Ahan ya sheikh @khaleelkazi
ARK is really interesting. I really wanted to invest a few months ago, but decided to invest into EOS instead. There is a lot of great projects to invest in right now, and ARK is indeed one of them. - Great post @khaleelkazi ! Keep up the amazing work!
Thanks @freddyfish! I've heard of EOS but have yet to look into it. Thanks for your kind words and support! I look forward to hearing more from you!
Fantastic summary! I am now interested in this coin. What exchanges do you know of that have it?
This is the kind of consumer facing technology we need for blockchain interaction!
Bittrex and Binance are the 2 exchanges I typically use and I know for sure that they have it. I agree! We really need more consume-centric tech!
Good info! I have a Binance account and will sprinkle some ARK on my modest portfolio!
The website is definitely sleek so you're right on that one. Its easy for me to get onboard supporting something that is consumer-centric too. I agree this is one to watch out for.
It's one of the best sites in the crypto space imo. It has actual tools and capabilities compared to many sites that are just "pretty" looking. Thanks for sharing your input!
This is the first I've heard of Ark and I will proceed to doing some research due to your awesome explanation. Ark being able to interact with any blockchain is what keeps ringing in my ear. Many thanks for sharing this!
I'm glad to have inspired your research! Bridging blockchains is a very exciting prospect and could change the game!
By connecting blockchains, we can solve the great question of the last few years in the altcoin community...
Agreed! It can also bring a lot of new consumers to market.
What exchanges can you buy it?
Binance and Bittrex are the 2 that I use
G'day mate have you voted for a delegate so you get your free ark?
Been watching their core V2 updates for some time now. Here is just hoping that the release coincides with this recent uptick in confidence. Would be amazing to see some institutional investors pick up on ARK if they saw the V2 release as a good time to get on board.
I love how ARK focus on solid releases. Def my tortoise coin in this race. Slow and steady.
I think the consumer-centric approach will open a whole new avenue for this coin. I just don't want to see any more kitties. I like Mike Doty. They are a great crew at ARK and have potential. Now where did I put that mining software? Just kidding. Honestly I think I would have a better chance winning #tkc pick than mining ARC. I have simple question but have found some strange answer when I searched google. How do we trade coins from steem to other altcoins? Do we always have to change it to bitcoin first?
Very interesting thanks for the information !
Move step by step, reach the goal! Thanks for sharing
Seems pretty promising. I like the idea that ARK is being created with easy to use interface in mind. When someone new enters the "crypto world" everything can seem so complex. I know I had my difficulties when I was introduced to cryptos!
Some people think they can put money in any crypto and it will rise.
It may work for now but in few months people will realize most of them are just bad ideas.
Its good that you selecting tokens and not buy them randomly.
making a solid analyze will always make you sleep better .
I have been wanting to get information about ARK, thanks for this post.
Can you please post about cryptokitties soon, I would like to have knowledge about them, THANKS
Whats your ideas on ethereum?? Today price was just $0.101. Do you think it is a good buy and on the rise??
ARK of Noah ;P
Ark is one of the first coins we invested in and the only one we have sitting in it's own secure wallet mainly due to if it's there we get paid interest on the investment.
I think by being more consumer-centric it makes it easier for the average Joe to get in and understand. Its all so overwhelming in the beginning which can scare some off. Give one of my fav things about crypto is that even the little gut has a chance at making it, then the easier that process the better.
Interesting coin, I think I might do more in-depth research on it and maybe include in my crypto portfolio.
Have been hearing so many talk about ARK but I haven't gone into studying and reading up on their work.
Thanks for the writeup. Will definitely be looking into ARK after this and use your thoughts to cross refer as well :)
I think it's a good thing being consumer-centric to the extent it begins to threaten the purpose and core direction of the project and work.
Good luck ark hodlers, looks like a solid project!
good information in bitcoin thanks for shearing
eco-system projects have begun to be noteworthy. The dividend was also nice. It looks like an interesting, investable project. Thank you for the detailed explanations. Do you have a cryptopa that you can suggest otherwise?
good information in bitcoin thanks for shearing
Interesting information, I will have to read it again to understand more what you are talking about. Thanks!
Thanks for the write-up on this! I'm always looking for new coins with high potential and good idea.
So this is like a bridge between different crypto? That would be vital in seeing any kind of shift away from fiat